A biosensor for D-2-hydroxyglutarate in frozen sections and intraoperative assessment of IDH mutation status

The oncometabolite D-2-hydroxyglutarate (D-2-HG) has emerged as a valuable biomarker in tumors with isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations. Efficient detection methods are required and rapid intraoperative determination of D-2-HG remains a huge challenge. Herein, D-2-HG dehydrogenase from Achromobacter xylosoxidans (AX-D2HGDH) was found to have high substrate specificity. AX-D2HGDH dehydrogenizes D-2-HG and reduces flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) bound to the enzyme. Interestingly, the dye resazurin can be taken as another substrate to restore FAD. AX-D2HGDH thus catalyzes a bisubstrate and biproduct reaction: the dehydrogenation of D-2-HG to 2-ketoglutarate and simultaneous reduction of non-fluorescent resazurin to highly fluorescent resorufin. According to steady-state analysis, a ping-pong bi-bi mechanism has been concluded. The Km values for resazurin and D-2-HG were determined as 0.56 μM and 10.93 μM, respectively, suggesting high affinity to both substrates. On the basis, taking AX-D2HGDH and resazurin as recognition and fluorescence transducing element, a D-2-HG biosensor (HGAXR) has been constructed. HGAXR exhibits high sensitivity, accuracy and specificity for D-2-HG in different biological samples. With the aid of HGAXR and the matched low-cost palm-size detecting device, D-2-HG levels in frozen sections of resected brain tumor tissues can be measured in a direct, simple and accurate manner with a fast detection (1-3 min). As the technique of frozen section is familiar to surgeons and pathologists, HGAXR and the portable device can be easily integrated into the current workflow, having potential to provide rapid intraoperative pathology for IDH mutation status and guide decision-making during surgery.

Detection and elimination of trace d-lactic acid in lignocellulose biorefining chain: Generation, flow, and impact on chiral lactide synthesis

High chiral purity of lactic acid is a crucial indicator for the synthesis of chiral lactide as the primary intermediate chemical for ring-open polymerization of high molecular weight polylactic acid (PLA). Lignocellulose biomass is the most promising carbohydrate feedstock for commercial production of PLA, but the presence of trace d-lactic acid in the biorefinery chain adversely affects the synthesis and quality of chiral lactide. This study analyzed the fingerprint of trace  d-lactic acid in the biorefinery chain and found that the major source of  d-lactic acid comes from lignocellulose feedstock. The naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria and water-soluble carbohydrates in lignocellulose feedstock provide the necessary conditions for  d-lactic acid generation. Three strategies were proposed to eliminate the generation pathway of  d-lactic acid, including reduction of moisture content, conversion of water-soluble carbohydrates to furan aldehydes in pretreatment, and conversion to  l-lactic acid by inoculating engineered  l-lactic acid bacteria. The natural reduction of lactic acid content in lignocellulose feedstock during storage was observed due to the lactate oxidase-catalyzed oxidation of  l- and  d-lactic acids. This study provided an important support for the production of cellulosic  l-lactic acid with high chiral purity.

Production of Ethylene Glycol from Glycerol Using an In Vitro Enzymatic Cascade

Glycerol is a readily available and inexpensive substance that is mostly generated during biofuel production processes. In order to ensure the viability of the biofuel industry, it is essential to develop complementing technologies for the resource utilization of glycerol. Ethylene glycol is a two-carbon organic chemical with multiple applications and a huge market. In this study, an artificial enzymatic cascade comprised alditol oxidase, catalase, glyoxylate/hydroxypyruvate reductase, pyruvate decarboxylase and lactaldehyde:propanediol oxidoreductase was developed for the production of ethylene glycol from glycerol. The reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) generated during the dehydrogenation of the glycerol oxidation product d-glycerate can be as the reductant to support the ethylene glycol production. Using this in vitro synthetic system with self-sufficient NADH recycling, 7.64 ± 0.15 mM ethylene glycol was produced from 10 mM glycerol in 10 h, with a high yield of 0.515 ± 0.1 g/g. The in vitro enzymatic cascade is not only a promising alternative for the generation of ethylene glycol but also a successful example of the value-added utilization of glycerol.

Interfacial behavior of Lactate Oxidase at Air-Subphase interface

This article investigates the main aspects of the surface chemistry properties of the lactate oxidase (LacOx) enzyme monolayer at the air-subphase interface. Surface chemistry study determined the important properties like the surface packing and stability of the formed layer, whereas the spectroscopic experiments provided information regarding its secondary structure conformation of the enzyme. We have demonstrated that the LacOx in the monolayer form remained active for extended time period. In accordance to the data obtained from the isotherm it was also found that LacOx forms a stable monolayer that does not aggregate at the air-subphase interface. The stability of the monolayer at the air-subphase interface was studied by using compression-decompression cycles which revealed the stability with no significant evidence of aggregates or irreversible domains. This was further confirmed by UV-vis absorption and fluorescence measurements. Spectra from circular dichroism (CD) showed that the LB film retains the characteristic of an α-helix conformation.

Highly Efficient Deracemization of Racemic 2-Hydroxy Acids in a Three-Enzyme Co-Expression System Using a Novel Ketoacid Reductase

Enantiopure 2-hydroxy acids (2-HAs) are important intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. Deracemization of racemic 2-HAs into the corresponding single enantiomers represents an economical and highly efficient approach for synthesizing chiral 2-HAs in industry. In this work, a novel ketoacid reductase from Leuconostoc lactis (LlKAR) with higher activity and substrate tolerance towards aromatic α-ketoacids was discovered by genome mining, and then its enzymatic properties were characterized. Accordingly, an engineered Escherichia coli (HADH-LlKAR-GDH) co-expressing 2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase, LlKAR, and glucose dehydrogenase was constructed for efficient deracemization of racemic 2-HAs. Most of the racemic 2-HAs were deracemized to their (R)-isomers at high yields and enantiomeric purity. In the case of racemic 2-chloromandelic acid, as much as 300 mM of substrate was completely transformed into the optically pure (R)-2-chloromandelic acid (> 99% enantiomeric excess) with a high productivity of 83.8 g L^-1 day^-1 without addition of exogenous cofactor, which make this novel whole-cell biocatalyst more promising and competitive in practical application.

Biocatalytic Oxidative Cascade for the Conversion of Fatty Acids into α-Ketoacids via Internal H2 O2 Recycling

The functionalization of bio-based chemicals is essential to allow valorization of natural carbon sources. An atom-efficient biocatalytic oxidative cascade was developed for the conversion of saturated fatty acids to α-ketoacids. Employment of P450 monooxygenase in the peroxygenase mode for regioselective α-hydroxylation of fatty acids combined with enantioselective oxidation by α-hydroxyacid oxidase(s) resulted in internal recycling of the oxidant H2 O2 , thus minimizing degradation of ketoacid product and maximizing biocatalyst lifetime. The O2 -dependent cascade relies on catalytic amounts of H2 O2 and releases water as sole by-product. Octanoic acid was converted under mild conditions in aqueous buffer to 2-oxooctanoic acid in a simultaneous one-pot two-step cascade in up to >99 % conversion without accumulation of hydroxyacid intermediate. Scale-up allowed isolation of final product in 91 % yield and the cascade was applied to fatty acids of various chain lengths (C6:0 to C10:0).